You have another cat?

"What foreign organization? If they pose a threat to the Donghuang League, I remember the maximum reward being five hundred thousand.

Where did you hear about this? Count me in on a good deal like that. At least I wouldn't have to worry about money for a while."

"Didn't you pass the civil service exam? Why worry when you've got a secure job for life?"

"First, I haven't done the interview yet. Second, my little sister has her own Pokémon now."

"What does that have to do with you?"

"Her Pokémon is a Snorlax. How many times more than an ordinary Pokémon do you think a Snorlax eats? I reckon my family's getting ready to cut me off early. I'll be on my own from now on, and I don't have insurance like you do."

According to Zhang Lin, now that he had graduated, his family was ready to leave him to fend for himself. Raising a Snorlax was expensive, after all.

That was also why many people didn't keep Pokémon. Keeping them alive was easy; raising them well was another matter. Raising Pokémon took a lot of effort, especially a Trainer's Pokémon. Pokémon dedicated to battling also consumed considerable resources as they developed.

Snorlax merely ate a lot. A Pokémon like Larvitar might need to eat an entire mountain to grow.

Of course, there were easy ones to keep, too. Pokémon like Oddish could practically be left to fend for themselves. It all depended on the circumstances.

But for an ordinary family, keeping a Snorlax was definitely a major expense.

"So where's this foreign organization of yours?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I don't have any evidence, after all..."

Xin Mu was almost certain it was the trio of Jessie, James, and Meowth, but he had no way to prove that to Officer Jenny.

Apart from building all sorts of bizarre machines to try to capture Pikachu, or going after other Pokémon, the Team Rocket trio were law-abiding citizens in a rather surreal way.

They worked diligently to earn money, washing dishes at restaurants, assembling parts in factories, or running small businesses. They turned up in every line of work, and their money-making success rate was 100%.

If Giovanni transferred those three from field operations to internal work, they could probably make Team Rocket genuinely as wealthy as a nation in no time.

But those three had become utterly obsessed with chasing Pikachu. Who knew how many Pikachu they could have bought with the money they spent building machines?

Of course, the mighty Pikachu was no ordinary Pikachu. With battle prowess that swung repeatedly between Legendary Pokémon and beginner Pokémon, this Pokémon was one of a kind.

"Then it's hard to say. If there isn't an international warrant out for them, and they haven't done anything in Donghuang, Officer Jenny probably won't bother with them."

"What a shame."

According to Brock, they had only arrived in Donghuang a few days ago. From that, Xin Mu could infer that Jessie and the others had only just arrived as well, and probably hadn't had a chance to act yet.

In a sense, keeping an eye on Ash now would let him find evidence. But Team Rocket's target was only Pikachu. For an individual, having a beloved Pokémon stolen was a serious matter.

On a regional scale, though, it wasn't much of an incident overall. The reward probably wouldn't be very large.

After adding that to his list of money-making projects, Xin Mu returned to his rented apartment with his takeaway lunch. Along with his own food, he had a serving of cut fruit for Meownei.

Pokémon could eat a wide range of foods. Specially formulated Pokémon food was certainly good, but Pokémon could eat human food as well.

Once he returned to his little apartment, Xin Mu began learning more about this world online.

Although his school's location and the surrounding terrain hadn't changed, the world as a whole was vastly different. Both the planet's land area and its ocean area were far greater than those of the original Earth.

That also meant more resources, which, combined with the scientifically impossible productivity of Pokémon, greatly reduced the potential for conflict.

As for the money-making methods he had originally considered... most were clearly spelled out in criminal law.

Broadly speaking, no region allowed companies to use Pokémon directly as their workforce. In short, they could hire humans who owned Pokémon, but couldn't directly employ a group of Pokémon under the company's name.

Pokémon were only there to assist, not serve as the main workforce, and there were also requirements concerning employee ratios.

It seemed to be intended to protect employment and maintain stability. Otherwise, manual laborers would probably lose their jobs en masse. That was a gap arising from differences between species.

As a result, people with suitable Pokémon received preference when applying for jobs.

All kinds of legislation concerning Pokémon had emerged alongside those rules.

Technical positions had changed less. Although Pokémon possessed intelligence approaching that of humans, most still lagged behind humans to some degree.

Only certain species possessed exceptionally high intelligence.

Pokémon Day Cares and ranches were special cases, with their own corresponding regulations.

"Looks like Gym Leaders and professional Trainers still get the best deal. They receive plenty of League subsidies, and plenty of advertising money, too."

Powerful Trainers undoubtedly enjoyed extremely high status. But Gym Leader positions... were largely inherited. Establishing a new League-recognized Gym was a highly complicated process, and succession usually ran through families or from master to apprentice.

With the previous Gym Leader's approval and a successful League review the following year, someone could secure the position. Xin Mu knew perfectly well that he didn't have those connections, but that didn't mean he had no options.

As long as Meownei was just as he remembered, she could probably sweep the entire team of Siebold, Kalos's Water-type Elite Four member. She could even put up a fight against the Champions of the various regions. Meownei was no weaker than their ace Pokémon.

In theory, Xin Mu would only need a year to achieve a respectable result in a League tournament, then use that result to gain more opportunities.

He might even be able to return to his school's Battle Studies Department and land a professorship. Once students distinguished themselves, schools were very willing to build closer ties with them.

"Meownei alone isn't enough. I need to put together a full team."

"Meow?!"

At the words "full team," Meownei's ears suddenly pricked up as she groomed herself beside Xin Mu. She immediately moved in front of him and stared straight into his eyes.

Even without understanding her meows, Xin Mu could tell what she meant from her gaze.

[A full team? Am I not enough anymore?]

Yes, Meowscarada were Pokémon with a fierce attachment to their Trainers, and they were prone to jealousy.

The closer their bond, the more likely this was to happen. When a Meowscarada discovered her Trainer doting on another Pokémon, her mood would sour.

"You saw it yourself. This isn't like when the two of us were 'traveling' anymore. With only you, I often won't have enough Pokémon to meet the requirements."

"Meow, meow! (I can take on seven of them by myself!)"

"Ahem. In most cases, don't attack the Trainer. This is a society governed by law. Besides, making you do all the fighting would be too exhausting. You need teammates, too."

Meownei didn't seem particularly satisfied with that answer and sat off to one side, sulking. Still, it didn't last long. She soon sorted out her feelings on her own.

"Meow! (No other Meowscarada! No Sprigatito or Floragato either!)"

"Don't worry. No matter what happens, you'll always be my most special Pokémon. One of a kind."

"Meow~"

In a sense, that counted as outlining their future. Just then, however, Xin Mu noticed that the previously grayed-out application had finally finished loading.